Withers LLP

Private Client and Tax

Partner, Private Client and Tax

Eric leads our Tokyo office and focuses on international corporate and individual taxation. He also leads our international corporate tax practice in the Asia-Pacific region and serves as the Japan tax practice leader.

His practice involves advising clients on a broad range of international tax planning and corporate tax advisory matters including investment funds, M&A, cross-border transactions, real estate investments and technology matters. He specializes in structuring investment funds focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, and has significant experience in structuring funds using a Singapore treaty platform to invest into the Asia Pacific region. Eric has advised clients in over $50 billion of international corporate, real estate and private equity transactions.

In addition, he regularly advises ultra high-net-worth individuals on Japan income and inheritance tax planning and is particularly knowledgeable in the taxation of and use of foreign trusts in regards to Japan.

His clients include leading investment funds in the Asia region, MNCs, technology companies, and ultra high-net-worth Japanese and foreign individuals.

Having worked in Asia for over 20 years, he is well-versed in the taxation of cross-border transactions across the Asia-Pacific region, involving the US, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and China.

Eric graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois, College of Law, where he ranked first in his class. In addition to being qualified as a foreign licensed lawyer in Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom, Eric is also licensed as a CPA in Illinois and Hawaii (not in public practice), and is an Singapore Accredited Tax Adviser on Income Tax.

Prior to joining the firm, he headed the tax group in Asia for Morrison & Foerster and before that, he served as the Head of Tax – Asia for White & Case.

Chambers’ Asia-Pacific guide says about him, Eric is the "well known" leader of the tax practice who is highly proficient in dealing with cross-border tax matters including tax planning. Chambers ranks him in Band 1 and Euromoney has listed him in its World Leading Tax Advisors guide for 18 years in a row. His Japan tax practice was recognised by International Tax Review as the ‘Japan National Tax Firm of the Year’ in 2016.

Eric is a founding member of ALTA, Asia-Pacific’s Leading Tax Advisors.

English

University of Hawaii, BBAUniversity of Illinois College of Law, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, JD